Panasonic (News - Alert) Corp. is facing some tough times in the aftermath of the Japan earthquake and tsunami. Not only is the firm planning to trim its workforce by about 17 thousand jobs, with the cuts to be divided between the company’s Japanese and overseas segments, their first quarter was abysmal and their supply chain hasn’t fully recovered from the disaster.
Despite all the doom and gloom, Panasonic is remaining hopeful and feels it can turn tragedy into success. The silver lining? Renewable energy technologies.
With climate change concerns, coupled with high oil prices, peak oil, and increasing gasoline prices, we are seeing a push towards renewable energy and companies who support it. During the five-years from the end of 2004 through 2009, worldwide renewable energy capacity grew at rates of 10–60 percent annually for many technologies, and Panasonic wants to move in that direction.
According to a report by the Associated Press, Panasonic felt it needed to find growth in another area and Panasonic’s president, Fumio Ohtsubo, said his company’s recent efforts to move toward environmentally friendly products and renewable energy technologies would eventually pay off.
The goal? To become “the No. 1 green innovation company in the electronics industry” by 2018.
If Panasonic sticks to audiovisual and white goods, then “our future growth will be limited,” Ohtsubo told reporters in Tokyo.
The new thinking on energy represents a “big chance” for the company, Ohtsubo said.
“In the mid- to long-term, there are big overlaps between Japan’s recovery vision and Panasonic’s concept,” he said.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced that Japan would overhaul its long-term energy policy, which had included a plan to raise the country’s reliance on nuclear energy from 30 percent to 50 percent. The government, Kan said, will place greater focus on renewable energy such as solar, wind and biomass, as well as conservation.
Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2011, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2011, in Austin, Texas. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.
Michelle Amodio is a TMCnet contributor. She has helped promote companies and groups in all industries, from technology to banking to professional roller derby. She holds a bachelor's degree in Writing from Endicott College and currently works in marketing, journalism, and public relations as a freelancer.Edited by
Jennifer Russell
